A young brown bear was killed this week after seriously damaging property on Skyline Drive, said state wildlife trooper Trent Chwialkowski. The unidentified shooter did not report the taking as required by state law, and has not turned in the hide, also a requirement. Chwialkowski is investigating the shooting, which was reported by residents.

The bear was shot this month by a Skyline resident, according to several homeowners on upper Young Road and Skyline Drive, after numerous police reports in the past two weeks of a bear breaking into a shop; damaging a garage door, a vehicle and ATV seat covers; tearing off siding, and breaking part of an exposed sewer line.

State law allows killing a bear in defense of life or property, said Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Carl Koch. The law allows people to shoot an animal that is threatening “valuable property necessary for your livelihood or survival.”

Koch said the person who killed the bear is required to immediately report it to the Department of Fish and Game, Alaska State Troopers and local police, and to turn in the hide with claws attached and skull to the state. None of those agencies had received a report of the incident from the shooter as of Monday.

Koch said shooting a bear is often the last resort. He said the first step is to figure out what’s bringing the bear around, and ways to remove the attraction. The department will work with troopers on a solution, which sometimes includes hazing, or creating a negative experience to scare away the bear from the area.

“The department will work with the troopers on a case-by-case basis,” Koch said. “In some cases, we’ll remove or euthanize the animal, but we never got to that point here.”

Chwialkowski said the bear was most likely a 2-year-old recently kicked out by its mother before berries and other natural food sources were readily available.

“It is likely that the bear was rewarded in some way by getting into garbage or a vehicle with food in it,” he said.

Skyline Drive homeowner Mark Fontenot said the bear tore up cedar trim around his garage last week and ripped off the doors to an enclosed recycling area under some stairs while he was out of town.

“I wished the bear would have gone fishing like he should have,” Fontenot said.

Greg Goodman said the bear almost broke through the wall of his garage by tearing off a piece of siding. When he thought he heard a noise from his cat in the middle of the night and stomped his foot to shoo it away, Goodman said he unknowingly scared off the bear instead.

“The damage was on the side of the garage with vegetation that I normally wouldn’t have seen, but I noticed daylight coming through the wall,” Goodman said.

Chwialkowski said there have been several reports of bear sightings in downtown Haines in the past month, including one recurring on FAA Road.

“It is a good reminder for folks to keep their home, property and vehicle free of attractants,” he said. “Negligently leaving human food, animal food or garbage in a manner that attracts these bears could warrant a $300 citation from the state troopers.”